Apr 18 Thursday
Sponsored by KNKX. Immerse yourself in the stories, songs and voices of womxn and non-binary artists through blues and blues-rooted repertoire. Year two of this dynamic series, Hear Me Talkin' to You: Womxn & Blues, will feature local artists interpreting the music of Blueswomxn from past and present, including Bessie Smith, Big Mama Thornton, Etta James, Ma Rainey, Koko Taylor, Ruthie Foster, Memphis Minnie, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Bonnie Raitt, Ethyl Waters, Nina Simone and Aretha Franklin. Featured artists will also sing original music to show the evolution of inspiration in their work! Shows the 3rd Thursday from March thru June, curated by Reese T.
March 21: The music of Bessie Smith, Big Mama Thornton, and Etta James with Aline Vida, Amber Flame, Sari Breznau and Sheryl Wiser as well as Jimmy James on guitar
April 18: The music of Memphis Minnie, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and Bonnie Raitt - featuring Maya Marie and special guest Bonnie McCoy (whose great aunt was Memphis Minnie).
May 16: The music of Ethel Waters, Nina Simone, and Aretha Franklin
June 20: The music of "Ma" Rainey, Koko Taylor, and Ruthie Foster
Presented by KNKX. NEA Jazz Master and four-time Grammy Award Winner Stanley Clarke has attained “living legend” status during his over 50-year career as a bass virtuoso. He is the first bassist in history who doubles on acoustic and electric bass with equal ferocity and the first jazz-fusion bassist ever to headline tours, selling out shows worldwide. A veteran of over 40 albums, he won the 2011 Best Contemporary Jazz Album Grammy Award for The Stanley Clarke Band. Clarke co-founded the seminal fusion group Return to Forever with Chick Corea and Lenny White. In 2012 Return to Forever won a Grammy Award and Latin Grammy for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Forever.
Clarke’s creativity has been recognized and rewarded in every way imaginable: gold and platinum records, Grammy Awards, Emmy nominations, virtually every readers and critics poll in existence, and more. In 2022 Clarke was selected by the National Endowment for the Arts as one of its four new Jazz Master honorees. He also was Rolling Stone’s very first Jazzman of the Year and bassist winner of Playboy’s Music Award for ten straight years. Clarke was honored with Bass Player Magazine’s Lifetime Achievement Award and is a member of Guitar Player Magazine’s “Gallery of Greats.” In 2004 he was featured in Los Angeles Magazine as one of the Top 50 Most Influential People. He was honored with the key to the city of Philadelphia and put his hands in cement as a 1999 inductee into Hollywood’s “Rock Walk” on Sunset Boulevard. In 2011 he was honored with the highly prestigious Miles Davis Award at the Montreal Jazz Festival for his entire body of work. Clarke has won Downbeat Magazine’s Reader’s and Critics Poll for Best Electric Bass Player for many years. In September 2016 he became a part of the permanent collection displayed at the Smithsonian’s new National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) in Washington DC.
Apr 19 Friday
Cadence Video Poetry Festival, presented by Northwest Film Forum, programmed in collaboration with Seattle author Chelsea Werner-Jatzke and intermedia artist Rana San, is a series of screenings, workshops, and discussions on the genre of video poetry, during National Poetry Month.
Cadence approaches video poetry as a literary genre presented as visual media that makes new meaning from the combination of text and moving image. Featuring screenings, an artist residency, generative workshops for youth and adults, and juried awards, the festival fosters critical and creative growth around the medium of video poetry.
Apr 20 Saturday
First-ever Anacortes Earth Day Celebration - Saturday, April 20 from 4 to10 pm, downtown Anacortes.Live Music, Rhythm Studio Dancers, Environmental and Interactive Displays, Children's Activities .5:00 Procession of the Species8:15 Luminary Light Parade
“Blues and the Abstract Truth” is a highly acclaimed jazz album released in 1961, and is considered a landmark recording in the realm of post-bop and features an all-star lineup of musicians led by the saxophonist Oliver Nelson. The album’s innovative compositions and superb performances have made it a classic.
The album’s title suggests a fusion of the blues, a deeply rooted African American musical form, with more abstract and complex musical ideas. Nelson masterfully combines elements of the blues with intricate harmonies, sophisticated arrangements, and improvisational sections, resulting in a rich and engaging experience. SRJO is thrilled to share this with our audiences.
April 20th | Saturday 7:30pm Nordstrom Recital Hall at Benaroya
April 21st | Sunday 2:00pm Kirkland Performance Center
Apr 23 Tuesday
Join Freeway Park Association and Seattle Parks and Recreation, along with our partners from Town Hall Seattle and Urban Renaissance Group, to celebrate Earth Day 2024 by volunteering for a neighborhood clean-up in First Hill and/or help beautify Freeway Park to prepare it for a beautiful Spring and Summer!
Join us on Tuesday, April 23rd, from 12-1:30pm for as much time as you can spare! We will have some tools, gloves and more supplies to share but bring your own if you can. Refreshments will be provided.
RSVP at https://www.volunteermatch.org/search/opp3788554.jsp to let us know you're attending!
All Freeway Park events are free, inclusive and open to the public.
Apr 25 Thursday
Sponsored by KNKX. Spanning thirty years, from Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Venice Beach, California, and lands in between and far beyond, Gabrielle Zevin’s Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow examines the multifarious nature of identity, disability, failure, the redemptive possibilities in play, and above all, our need to connect: to be loved and to love.
Hailed as a “tour de force” by Ron Charles of the Washington Post, Gabrielle Zevin’s Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow has found both critical and commercial success, named one of the Best Books of the Year by the New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, TIME, GoodReads, and Oprah Daily.
Sponsored by KNKX. Join us at the 21st Seattle Black Film Festival taking place in the historic Central District, where the power of storytelling comes alive. Immerse yourself in a plethora of narratives from the African Diaspora, spanning genres, countries, and styles. Engage in talkbacks with filmmakers, networking events, and local culinary delights from restaurants and vendors. It's more than a festival; it's a cultural journey. Don't miss the chance to be part of this vibrant tapestry of cinema and community. In-person April 25th - 28th. Virtual April 29th - May 5th
May 25 Saturday
Welcomed by KNKX. Samara Joy is bringing back old school jazz, making it her own with her stirring soulfulness and undeniable sparkling talent. In recognition of her stardom, Samara Joy won a 2024 Grammy for Best Jazz Performance ("Tight"), plus two 2023 Grammys (Best Jazz Vocal Album and the auspicious Best New Artist award), and following that win she sold out her Seattle show with Earshot Jazz in March of 2023. Her voice, rich and velvety yet precociously refined, has already earned her fans like Anita Baker and Regina King, appearances on the TODAY Show, and millions of likes on TikTok—cementing her status as perhaps the first Gen Z jazz singing star. On Linger Awhile, Samara will introduce that massive audience to a slew of classic standards several times older than she is through her timeless, irresistible sound. The New York Times praised the “silky-voiced rising star” for “helping jazz take a youthful turn” while NPR All Things Considered named her a “classic jazz singer from a new generation.” Joy is still relatively new to jazz, but she relishes the process of digging through the music’s history and reimagining new standards in a way that enlivens and enriches them. This holiday season, Samara released her first collection of holiday music, A Joyful Holiday EP. The 6-song collection of seasonal favorites is an extension of her latest album Linger Awhile and features a similar cast of jazz musicians—Pasquale Grasso on guitar, David Wong on bass and Kenny Washington on drums – plus Sullivan Fortner on piano.